Political polarization in the military is one of the top contributing factors to a sharp decline in confidence in the armed services over the last five years, according to a new study from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
Citing the Reagan National Defense Survey released this week, the Washington Examiner reports that 48% of respondents expressed great confidence in the military which is a slight increase from 45% last year, but a significant drop from 70% in 2018.
Respondents were asked, for the first time, why they lacked confidence in the military in this year’s survey. A total of three of the eight options were related to the types of leadership in the military. 62% of respondents said military leadership has become too politicized. Additionally, over half palmed the president, military civilian leadership, uniformed officers, and the military’s ability to win a future war as well.
There was a strong partisan divide among some of the reasons respondents gave for their lack of confidence in the military. The so-called ‘woke’ practices” were cited by fifty percent of respondents, though partisanship differs greatly on this, with Republicans pointing their finger at ‘wokeness’ far more than Democrats.
On FOX News, Vivek Ramaswamy – Strive Asset Management Founder – explained that, “When any institution veers from its main purpose, people trust that institution less.”
He added, “The military is not an exception.”
As noted by the American Lookout, this survey is a sad development for our military, but there is still time to change it.
A strong military is essential to the security of any nation. Throughout history, powerful armed forces have been used to win wars and defend against aggressors. Today, the United States has the most advanced and well-equipped military in the world and is a force to be reckoned with. However, all of this power is useless if the American people do not have confidence in the military. Unfortunately, trust in the armed forces has declined sharply in recent years due to political polarization. 48% of Americans now say they have great confidence in the military, down from 70% in 2018. This is a crushing blow to our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to protect our country. The military must remain apolitical if it is to regain the trust of the American people.
